Even Tough Guys Get Nightmares
by libbzyol
Summary: Raph had a nightmare, which scared him more than he could imagine. With only his fun loving brother there to comfort the hot-head, will he ever sleep again? Or will Mikey actually be able to comfort his older brother? READ TO FIND OUT MORE! Lots of brotherly fluff in this story, and a different way of portraying both Raphael and Michelangelo. Please enjoy!


**Heya guys! Thanks for checking out my latest fan fic! This is a one shot and I really hope you guys enjoy the different ways I portrayed both Raphael and Michelangelo's personalities. Please review, and, enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own TMNT or any of the characters affiliated with the franchise. Thanks.**

**-libbzyol**

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"NO!" Raph screamed as he awoke from his nightmare. He fumbled about his nightstand with his sweat laced hands, searching for his night lamp. His hand hit the switch suddenly and the room was engulfed with artificial light, causing Raphael to jump under his covers in fright.

"Man" He muttered as he slowly pulled the covers away from his face, and swung his legs out of bed and onto the floor. He quickly glanced at his red alarm clock, and heaved an audible sigh. "3:00am. Great. Even Fearless won't be up at this time of tha mornin'" Raph stated, and he wrapped his duvet around him, and made his way silently out of his room, down the stairs and into the kitchen.

He breathed a sigh of relief as he flicked the dim lamp on in the kitchen, thankful to be out of the darkness. He was just about to get some milk out from the fridge, when he heard the soft snoring coming from the lab in the lair. Raph processed this sound for just a few moments, before darting out of the kitchen. In a split second, he had turned the handle on the lab door and had entered the lab, at his own peril. His neutral facial expression turned into a slight smile as he took in the picture before him. Donatello was slumped over his keyboard, with a split cup of coffee drenching his face, and a small puddle of dribble lining the keyboard. He was snoring ever so softly, and was as still as a log otherwise.

Considering for a moment the situation he was in, Raph gave in with a sigh, and walked over to the sleeping form of his younger brother. He then gently lifted Donnie's head off the keyboard, and cradled it while he swung Donnie's body into his arms. In one swift movement, he had Don in a comfortable bridal carry, and was walking out of the lab.

"Raphael, the stealth king, does it again" He whispered to himself as he climbed the stairs to the second floor of the lair. He tip-toed silently past his orange clad brother's room, and stopped outside the door of Donnie's room. He peered in, only to notice that Donnie's sheets were not there.

"I rememba now, he put em in tha wash at Ape's" Raph remembered, and mentally face-palmed himself as he quietly walked over to his bedroom. He then pulled back his covers, and gently laid down Donnie in his bed. Don let out a soft moan, and rolled onto his side, as Raphael pulled his ruby red covers over his brother.

"Sweet dreams, dude" Raph muttered and he turned out the desk lamp, and walked out of his room closing the door. He then raced back down the ladder, and began to make his way back to the kitchen.

"Well, it wasn't like I was gonna sleep anyway" He uttered to himself as he walked into the kitchen. But what he saw in the kitchen nearly sent him jumping 10 feet in the air. Mikey, his baby brother, was stood by the microwave, heating two mugs of milk. One in his cup, and one in Raph's. Mikey turned round to face his hot-head brother, and smiled at him, with dry lips and red, puffy eyes. It looked like Mikey was having trouble sleeping too.

"Mikey? What ya doin up?" Raph inquired as he sat down at the kitchen table. Mikey let out a long sigh, and opened the microwave, taking the cups of milk out. He then handed one to Raph, and then sat down with his at the opposite side of the table to his brother.

"Klunk woke me up, actually, and now Klunk won't let me sleep in my bed again." Mikey grunted, taking a swig of the lukewarm milk. Raph followed suit, and took a swig of his.

"So jus' move 'im them, he's only a cat!" Raph exclaimed, to which Mikey held up his finger in reply.

"Ah Ah Ah! That's the thing, he scratched me when I tried to move him! I love him with all my heart, but man he can really be annoying. What bout you? Why you up so early?" Mikey asked in reply.

Raph looked around nervously, desperately trying to figure out a convincing lie as to why he was down here. He didn't want to sound like a softie, especially in front of his baby brother. Giving up, Raph let out an exasperated sigh.

"Nightmares" He muttered, and Mikey's eyes widened slightly.

"Nightmares? Dude, I'm the one with the nightmares, not you. So, what's it about?" Mikey asked, to which Raph blankly stared at him. "Come on, you know you can tell me?" Mikey insisted, sitting in the seat next to his brother and draping a comforting arm across Raph's shoulder. Raph sighed again in defeat and explained to Mikey.

"It's the Shredder. I dreamt, I dreamt he came back. He-he-he took us off guard on a rooftop one night, and he ambushed us. He took down each one of ya and killed ya all. He then came for me, and, and, I ran away. I ran and ran, until I slipped and I began ta fall off a roof, but I woke up before I could go splat. I can't believe I ran off like that" Raph muttered shamefully, but looked up in surprise to see his little brother's face so close to his.

"Follow me" Mikey smiled, and led his brother out of the lair, and out of the sewers. They climbed the ladder to a rooftop in silence, and Raph began to run behind Mikey as he gracefully jumped across gap after gap. Suddenly, Mikey saw what he was looking for, and jumped out of sight. Worry began to grow in Raph as he heard the sound of fighting getting nearer and nearer, until he jumped down the gap that Mikey had disappeared through, and saw Mikey fighting a bunch of Purple Dragons, and by the looks of it, he was doing alright.

"Mikey! Bro!" Raph yelled, but he was too late, as Mikey was thrown to the floor, and knocked seemingly unconscious. "MIKEY!" Raph bellowed, but then stopped short as he remembered his nightmare.

_"Run, run little turtle, run like the coward you are!" Shredder bellowed with an evil laugh, as Raphael ran away from the horrific scene._

"NO! I will NOT RUN!" Raph screamed, and he beat down the remaining Dragons, and ran to his brother's side, who was still asleep.

Suddenly, Mikey smiled with a beaming smile, and his eyes darted open to greet his older brother. "See Raphael?" Mikey asked, and sat up as his brother looked at him, confused.

"But, you were unconscious? But, I don't understand, you're okay?" Raph asked puzzled

"Yep, I was never unconscious in the first place. Sure, I'm a little sore, but I got into the fight on purpose" Mikey admitted

"ON PURPOSE? MIKEY YOU BETTER HAVE A GOOD EXPLANANTION FOR THIS CHUCKLE-HEAD!" Raph began, but Mikey wrapped an arm around his brother, smiling at him with shining blue eyes.

"You see, in your nightmare you ran away from us, when we needed you. I could see the failure in yourself when you were telling me about how you ran away, so I had to prove to you that you would never run away from me or any of the guys in our time of need. And I can see that it worked." Mikey explained, leaving a bemused Raph staring into the eyes of his brother, completely astounded by his fun-loving brother's actions.

Suddenly, Raph returned the smile, and he stood up, holding out his hand. Mikey, smiling, took his brother's hand, and he was pulled into Raph's arms with a gentle pull. "And I'm glad you did that, for me. You made me realise that I would never do such a thing like that, thanks to you, little brother. How can I ever thank you?" Raph asked as Mikey led him back onto the rooftops.

"You don't need to, bro" Mikey replied, as he sat on the ledge of the rooftop with Raph, their green muscular legs dangling over the edge. After a few minutes of silence, Mikey became aware of some deep breathing going on next to him. He looked across to his brother and saw him slumped over the rooftop, his eyes closed, fast asleep.

Mikey chuckled to himself as he lifted Raph onto his back, and he dropped off the rooftop, and into the sewers of New York. Once he got back to the lair, it was 5:55am, 5 minutes before Leonardo and Sensei got up for their morning training. Mikey swiftly but smoothly ran to his room, knowing that Donnie was using Raphs bed. He laid his older brother onto his bed, tucking him in the soft blankets, sighing relief that Klunk had moved off his bed. Mikey then found a comfortable cushion from his sofa, and lay it out on the floor. He then grabbed his dressing gown, and placed it on top of him as he lay down on the cushion. He heard the light sound of Leonardo's alarm from the next room, but thought nothing of it as he went off to dream-world.

8am came around quicker than Donnie could think about. He groaned as he woke up, but became confused as he realised he was in Raph's room. He then rubbed his head, and walked out of Raph's room and down to the kitchen, where his coffee awaited him. Leo looked at him quizzically.

"Don? Why were ya in Raph's room?" Leo asked as Don stared into the blackness of his coffee.

"I, do not know" Don replied, and Leo shrugged as he went back to reading his latest book. "Well, I'll see you in the Dojo" Don smiled, and poured the rest of his coffee down the drain, dragging his feet towards the dojo.

Meanwhile, Raphael woke up with a start as the alarm went off next to his face. He groaned and rubbed his eyes, sitting up in bed. He looked down, puzzled at the citrus orange covers he was wrapped up in. He then looked across the room, where his problems were solved. Mikey lay, uncomfortably asleep on the floor, with nothing but a dressing gown to keep him warm. He was shivering.

"I love ya Mikey, I really do. No matta what I say, I will always love ya. For everything you did last night, and everything you have done. I love ya" Raph whispered to Mikey, and smiled a little as it looked like Mikey smiled approvingly in his sleep. "After the small beating you took last night baby bro, I think Sensei will allow ya to skip training, just this once." Raph muttered, and he gathered Mikey in his arms, laying down in his bed. He then kissed Mikey's forehead gently, and smiled. "I'll see ya in a few, baby bro" Raph whispered, and left the room with a smile to go join his brothers in the dojo.

5 hours later, Mikey awoke with a groan, to find himself back in his bed. He rubbed his head in puzzlement, as he saw his dressing gown hung up on the back of his door, and the cushion he was asleep on was underneath his head, acting as a pillow. He glanced over to the alarm clock, and shot out of bed when he read the time it said on it.

"1:00pm! WHAT'S SENSEI GONNA SAY! I AM SO BUSTED!" Mikey yelled in blind panic, and he rushed down the stairs to the dojo, where Sensei was waiting for him. "SENSEI! I" He began, but then he looked over to Raphael, who looked over to him. He then winked, nodded, and beamed at Mikey, letting him know that he sorted it out for him. Mikey looked back to Sensei, bowed, and walked over to Raph. Without saying a word, Raph pulled him into a hug, and both were smiling to themselves with the widest smiles they possibly could.

Mikey then sighed, and whispered one final word in Raph's ear.

"I will always love ya too, brother"


End file.
